1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to attachments for mowing machines, and particularly to a crop spreading device for use with drum mowers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of different types of crop mowing machines are familiar to those skilled in the art. One type of mower is the well known reciprocating mower, an example of which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,714,795 to Clendening. This type of mower suffers from the disadvantage of having a somewhat slow mowing speed and also from the fact that it is susceptible to severe damage from rigid or hard objects scattered within a crop being mowed. Furthermore, reciprocating mowers tend to jam or become clogged by certain types of crops or by crops which have been blown over other otherwise flatened. However, this type of mower possesses an advantage in that it drops the cut crop in a uniform pattern across the entire width of the mower, thus enabling the crop to dry with relative ease.
Another well known type of mower is the rotating drum mower of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,391,522 to Zweegers. This type of mower is considered by many to be a substantial improvement over the reciprocating mower in that it permits high mowing speeds and can cut smoothly through virtually any type of crop, even those that are crushed or flatened by rain or wind. Furthermore, the rotating mowers generally do not sustain significant damage even when coming into contact with solid objects scattered among growing crops.
Drum mowers, however, possess one feature which is considered to be a disadvantage by many farmers. This is the fact that the cut crop is concentrated into a pile or row at the center of the mower. In other words, the crop cut across the entire swath of the mower is stacked in an area that is generally only 1/3 or less the width of the mowed swath. The cut crop is accordingly piled significantly deeper in limited areas by the drum mower than by the reciprocating type of mower.
Although in the past it has been considered an advantage to have the crop concentrated in pile rows of the type produced by rotary mowers, many farmers and agricultural experts presently believe that uniform distribution of the mowed crop over the entire mowed swath provide a significant advantage in reducing the time required for drying of the mowed crop. This feature is especially important in the mowing of hay where the hay must be dried to be effectively bailed or otherwise processed.
According a need exists for an apparatus which will permit a combination of the mowing speed and reliability of drum mowers with the crop spreading capability of reciprocating mowers. A need further exists for the achievement of this goal with the maximum of manufacturing economy and in such a manner that conventional drum mowing machines can be easily adapted to perform the crop spreading function.